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We wanted to watch the Change of Guards ceremony at Buckingham palace. It takes place at 11 AM on alternate days. When we asked the reception at hotel, there was a confusion on which days and we ended up going to the Buckingham Palace twice. Anyhow, the change of guards was a bust, at least for me because I could not see *anything*. The crowd was thick around the gates and I just got out of there to get some air.

We're going out of order a bit to show Change of Guards pictures from Day 3.

After I got out of the crowd, the horse guards came from behind the palace and I was able to see them up close so that was nice.

There is a nice park right next to the palace, St. James Park. That gate in the picture above is an entrance to it. We spent some time there while returning. There is a lake with duck island that houses many different kinds of ducks.

Sorry for ignoring the Henna questions! I read them and made a mental note to answer and then forgot. Oops. It was applied by professionals, not by me or any family though in a pinch I've done it myself before. Usually in Delhi markets, you'll find a bunch of youngish guys (18-25 yr olds) sitting along sidewalks, with Henna cones and some albums of their work to flip through. I should have taken a picture or better, a video, but it is such a natural thing for me, I didn't think of it! It took 2 guys, 20 minutes total for both hands, and $2. The $2 (Rs.100) is expensive by daily standards because I got it on KarwaChowth, a festival where Henna is a must for married women keeping the fast. Usually it is Rs.50 total for both hands. It lasts for 15 days, though it starts fading away after 2-3 days. When you first remove it after applying, do not wash hands in water if you want it to give a better color. After removing the paste, you let it sit overn…

London Day One (contd..)Read Day Zero here. We went to visit the London Eye as everyone had said it is not to be missed. Got there and found long queue to get the passes and then to enter the ride. Turned out, if we bought the combined ticket for this and Madame Tussad's Wax Museum, we'd skip the line for buying passes. We had Tussads on our list anyways so we bought the combined pass and went straight on the ride. The London eye moves slowly to give you aerial view of London. Looking from across the Thames River

Near the Eye

Inside the eye

Aerial View of Thames River

Other side

Hungry yet? We were, so after this we ate at McDonald's near the Eye. After that, we continued on the Westmister Abby. Everything in this area is so close and yet so far on foot!